Cell phones were banned "from use" here a while ago. I'm waiting for the death toll to mount (as drivers pull over to answer their phones) for the next iteration.

Also banned are "video screens" of the entertainment type... navigation is ok, but the diver "shall not see" others....

This may only be my state as opposed to the hole (pun intended) of Australia, but Australian driver education is somewhat lacking.... We have a campaign here to get "at least 120 hours experience" on Learner's Permit before getting a License - that can be with any Licensed moron. (Although they seem to mandate and push lessons for motorcyclists, the seem to know the same for drivers will have no effect.)

The excuse for banning phones was the distraction.
I thought "is a phone is MORE distracting than passengers, kids, partners???!!..." (not that any of those should take precedence over driving).

But one senior Police stated the reason was the impact on decision making from the phone itself.
(FYI - our CDMA networks were shut down. All our cells are now GSM, 3G etc. AFAIK USA only started GSM a few years ago so their tumors & cancers are yet to catch up.)
Of course, that was the one and only time that was ever broadcast! (I wonder which robbery he was shot in?)

I am surprised others would want similar legislation unless it really is a brainwave issue!

Yes it is distracting, but let Darwin's findings do their thing and thin out the herd.

And what if the moron takes you with him??

You can't legislate common sense... It would be nice to make it illegal to drive down a street with your head under the seat looking for something you dropped...or texting as you fly through a red light....or watching movies instead of the road....or any of a dozen other things common sense would tell you is a bad idea...but none of it does anything other then screw over people doing nothing wrong.

The texting ban includes electronic mail, instant or text messages, accessing the Internet and other activities that donít have to do with calls on a phone, pager, laptop, or hand held electronic device by all drivers. It also applies to drivers who are stopped at traffic lights or stop signs.

I am personally in favor of the law (albeit an offender on occasion), but the Mass State Police had a different take on it.

Paraphrasing: "It's a good concept, but completely unenforceable. Just say you were dialing your phone and we can't do anything. Not to mention we're already stretched thin as is. You think we're going to put cops out there with a directive to stop people from texting? Ya right."

Sometimes I find the disconnect between government and reality disturbing.

Also, they decided to include double standards in the law:

Rep. Joseph F. Wagner, D-Chicopee, said people can still use a GPS while driving, but not if the GPS application is on a phone.